Calgary’s inner city is always changing, but its museums keep it firmly rooted to the past.

Here, you’ll find places like The Military Museums, dedicated to honouring Canadian soldiers, and the Grain Academy Museum, celebrating our agricultural history.

The Glenbow Museum is the best known inner-city museum, hosting exhibits celebrating not only Alberta culture, but also housing an extensive collection of international artifacts, plus one of the biggest archives in the province.

“It’s our job to connect the past with the present in a way that helps us think about the future,” says president and CEO Kirstin Evenden. “It’s a hub where you can come and learn things that really transcend time and culture.”

Hosting 35,000 works of visual art, plus a renowned Asian collection, the Glenbow also hosts international temporary exhibits, such as Charlie Russell and the First Calgary Stampede exhibit (June 2-July 29), which includes 18 of the 20 paintings exhibited during the 1912 stampede by “the famous cowboy artist” Charlie Russell, and The West (June 2-Sept. 3), which includes contemporary artwork by numerous artists, including James Westergard, Dianne Bos, David Garneau and Kimowan McLain.

“I’ve always thought museums were places where people come together to learn about things they may not even realize they have an interest in,” says Evenden. “Our programming brings people to the core (like) Art on the Mall in the summer.”

Anchoring the East Village is Fort Calgary, the site where the North West Mounted Police established the 1875 outpost that would eventually form the beginnings of our city. “We’re a national historic site — one of the first to be designated in Canada in 1925,” says president and CEO Sara-Jane Gruetzner. “This place is the authentic roots of the city.”

The site off 9th Avenue S.E. hosts an interpretative centre, the historic Deane House and a replica barracks and school. Besides concerts, the fort also has temporary exhibits, including William Winder’s folk paintings (until May 25) and Before the Stampede: Calgary’s Cultural Context (June 1-Oct. 7).

In the Beltline, Lougheed House, built in 1891, was once known as Beaulieu. Standing on its original 12-hectare site, the house underwent extensive restoration and is now open to public tours. Besides being the home of former senator James Lougheed, it was also a school for nurses and housekeepers, a Canadian Women’s Army Corps barracks and local Red Cross headquarters. “It changes the flavour of the Beltline by having the gardens, which are a public park,” says Blane Hogue, executive director of the Lougheed House Conservation Society. “The house has created not just a cultural oasis, but a physical oasis,”

Lougheed House will host The Other Side of Gold Mountain exhibit on Chinese immigrants from September to November. //